Evaluation of exposure to contaminated drinking water and specific birth defects and childhood cancers at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune, North Carolina: a case–control study

BACKGROUND: Drinking water supplies at Marine Corps Base Camp Lejeune were contaminated with trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, benzene, vinyl chloride and trans-1,2-dichloroethylene during 1968 through 1985. METHODS: We conducted a case control study to determine if children born during 1968–1985 to mothers with residential exposure to contaminated drinking water at Camp Lejeune during pregnancy were more likely to have childhood hematopoietic cancers, neural tube defects (NTDs), or oral clefts. For cancers, exposures during the first year of life were also evaluated. Cases and controls were identified through a survey of parents residing on base during pregnancy and confirmed by medical records. Controls were randomly sampled from surveyed participants who had a live birth without a major birth defect or childhood cancer. Groundwater contaminant fate and transport and distribution system models provided estimates of monthly levels of drinking water contaminants at mothers’ residences. Magnitude of odds ratios (ORs) was used to assess associations. Confidence intervals (CIs) were used to indicate precision of ORs. We evaluated parental characteristics and pregnancy history to assess potential confounding. RESULTS: Confounding was negligible so unadjusted results were presented. For NTDs and average 1(st) trimester exposures, ORs for any benzene exposure and for trichloroethylene above 5 parts per billion were 4.1 (95% CI: 1.4-12.0) and 2.4 (95% CI: 0.6-9.6), respectively. For trichloroethylene, a monotonic exposure response relationship was observed. For childhood cancers and average 1(st) trimester exposures, ORs for any tetrachloroethylene exposure and any vinyl chloride exposure were 1.6 (95% CI: 0.5-4.8), and 1.6 (95% CI: 0.5-4.7), respectively. The study found no evidence suggesting any other associations between outcomes and exposures. CONCLUSION: Although CIs were wide, ORs suggested associations between drinking water contaminants and NTDs. ORs suggested weaker associations with childhood hematopoietic cancers

Developing a Web-Based Evaluation Tool for Purchasing Electronic Resources: A Librarian-Faculty-Student Partnership

Introduction “While the principles of collection development, which were developed in the world of print publications, do not change radically with new publishing technologies, methods of decision making and specific selection guidelines must be adjusted significantly to incorporate new publishing formats” (Demas). The goals of acquiring and maintaining a good collection of resources that directly benefit teaching and research at a university are important ones. It is nearly impossible for most library budgets to acquire every available electronic research database and the task of deciding which of these resources to purchase has been mostly left to librarians. In order to have a tool that would aid librarians in determining which electronic resources to acquire, the University of Akron Libraries developed an “Electronic Resources Previews Project Page” and introduced it on the library’s Web site in February 2005. The purpose of the Previews Project is to involve faculty, students, and librarians together in the evaluation and assessment of new electronic resources. With the volume and variety of research information becoming available electronically, the librarians at the University of Akron needed a more efficient way of keeping track of what is available and what information these resources provide. Previously, vendors and publishers would contact any number of librarians and offer a temporary trial of their product; after that the subject librarians would notify other colleagues and various teaching faculty with the logon and trial information. These librarians and faculty were then asked to logon and try out the resource and report their opinion on its value. The subject librarians would then forward the information to the Head of Collection Management who would consider these resources for possible purchase depending on the opinions and available funds. This was typically done through a series of email messages and phone conversations, and there was no consistent procedure in place. Trials on a number of electronic resource databases have also been available through the statewide consortium, OhioLINK. A procedure was needed to have a consistent way of arranging for and handling trials of electronic resources, and more importantly, having all the information in one place where librarians, faculty and students could have easy access for previewing and evaluating. Use of the Previews Project page by the Head of Collection Management would ensure an organized and systematic file of previewed electronic resources. With the creation and hiring of a new library position in 2004 (Electronic Resources Librarian), the Associate Dean of University Libraries envisioned the design and implementation of a Web-based tool for evaluating new electronic resources. After the initial plan was written the Associate Dean, the Head of Collection Management, and the Electronic Resources Librarian met to discuss and draw a workflow diagram for the creation, implementation and use of this new Web-based tool which became known as the “e-Resources Previews Project.” The goals and outcomes of this project are as follows: 1) develop a new and easy Web-based evaluation instrument for faculty, librarians, and students to assess individual electronic resources; 2) assess the potential use of a new resource by faculty and students prior to committing financial resources; 3) gather documentation from faculty and students to use as support for any additional funding requests; 4) develop methods for active collaboration between librarians and teaching faculty for using the resources in promoting student success via classroom assignments; 5) use the information gathered from librarians, faculty, and students to help with purchasing decisions; and 6) acquire the best resources and promote their use on campus

Developing a Web-Based Evaluation Tool for Purchasing Electronic Resources: A Librarian-Faculty-Student Partnership

Introduction “While the principles of collection development, which were developed in the world of print publications, do not change radically with new publishing technologies, methods of decision making and specific selection guidelines must be adjusted significantly to incorporate new publishing formats” (Demas). The goals of acquiring and maintaining a good collection of resources that directly benefit teaching and research at a university are important ones. It is nearly impossible for most library budgets to acquire every available electronic research database and the task of deciding which of these resources to purchase has been mostly left to librarians. In order to have a tool that would aid librarians in determining which electronic resources to acquire, the University of Akron Libraries developed an “Electronic Resources Previews Project Page” and introduced it on the library’s Web site in February 2005. The purpose of the Previews Project is to involve faculty, students, and librarians together in the evaluation and assessment of new electronic resources. With the volume and variety of research information becoming available electronically, the librarians at the University of Akron needed a more efficient way of keeping track of what is available and what information these resources provide. Previously, vendors and publishers would contact any number of librarians and offer a temporary trial of their product; after that the subject librarians would notify other colleagues and various teaching faculty with the logon and trial information. These librarians and faculty were then asked to logon and try out the resource and report their opinion on its value. The subject librarians would then forward the information to the Head of Collection Management who would consider these resources for possible purchase depending on the opinions and available funds. This was typically done through a series of email messages and phone conversations, and there was no consistent procedure in place. Trials on a number of electronic resource databases have also been available through the statewide consortium, OhioLINK. A procedure was needed to have a consistent way of arranging for and handling trials of electronic resources, and more importantly, having all the information in one place where librarians, faculty and students could have easy access for previewing and evaluating. Use of the Previews Project page by the Head of Collection Management would ensure an organized and systematic file of previewed electronic resources. With the creation and hiring of a new library position in 2004 (Electronic Resources Librarian), the Associate Dean of University Libraries envisioned the design and implementation of a Web-based tool for evaluating new electronic resources. After the initial plan was written the Associate Dean, the Head of Collection Management, and the Electronic Resources Librarian met to discuss and draw a workflow diagram for the creation, implementation and use of this new Web-based tool which became known as the “e-Resources Previews Project.” The goals and outcomes of this project are as follows: 1) develop a new and easy Web-based evaluation instrument for faculty, librarians, and students to assess individual electronic resources; 2) assess the potential use of a new resource by faculty and students prior to committing financial resources; 3) gather documentation from faculty and students to use as support for any additional funding requests; 4) develop methods for active collaboration between librarians and teaching faculty for using the resources in promoting student success via classroom assignments; 5) use the information gathered from librarians, faculty, and students to help with purchasing decisions; and 6) acquire the best resources and promote their use on campus

LEA polypeptide profiling of recalcitrant and orthodox legume seeds reveals ABI3-regulated LEA protein abundance linked to desiccation tolerance

In contrast to orthodox seeds that acquire desiccation tolerance during maturation, recalcitrant seeds are unable to survive drying. These desiccation-sensitive seeds constitute an interesting model for comparative analysis with phylogenetically close species that are desiccation tolerant. Considering the importance of LEA (late embryogenesis abundant) proteins as protective molecules both in drought and in desiccation tolerance, the heat-stable proteome was characterized in cotyledons of the legume Castanospermum australe and it was compared with that of the orthodox model legume Medicago truncatula. RNA sequencing identified transcripts of 16 homologues out of 17 LEA genes for which polypeptides are detected in M. truncatula seeds. It is shown that for 12 LEA genes, polypeptides were either absent or strongly reduced in C. australe cotyledons compared with M. truncatula seeds. Instead, osmotically responsive, non-seed-specific dehydrins accumulated to high levels in the recalcitrant cotyledons compared with orthodox seeds. Next, M. truncatula mutants of the ABSCISIC ACID INSENSITIVE3 (ABI3) gene were characterized. Mature Mtabi3 seeds were found to be desiccation sensitive when dried below a critical water content of 0.4g H2O g DW–1. Characterization of the LEA proteome of the Mtabi3 seeds revealed a subset of LEA proteins with severely reduced abundance that were also found to be reduced or absent in C. australe cotyledons. Transcripts of these genes were indeed shown to be ABI3 responsive. The results highlight those LEA proteins that are critical to desiccation tolerance and suggest that comparable regulatory pathways responsible for their accumulation are missing in both desiccation-sensitive genotypes, revealing new insights into the mechanistic basis of the recalcitrant trait in seeds